Atari ST games by genre

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Ghost Battle

Thalion games ooze a superior visual and audio style which few others could match. However, I don't think I've ever played Ghost Battle which is very odd as I'm a fan of platformers and Thalion! We are the stereotypical muscle-bound hero who needs to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend who was recently whisked away by a giant hand. Yes, a giant hand!! So be prepared to travel through some of the most beautiful words trying to find her. The goal is to kill everything in your wake but I fear the control and basic gameplay mechanics are a little awkward.

Movement feels too stiff which takes some getting used to because it's like plodding through mud and it doesn't help when deadly objects appear from out of nowhere to zap valuable energy. Our weapons aren't exactly right either because their rate of fire isn't quick enough to meet the demands required for a kill. So, no matter how many times you try and rapidly hit that fire button, most monsters will manage to survive which is really annoying!

The graphics are astounding with stunning artwork and smooth scrolling - which is faster on the Atari STe or older ST's with a Blitter Chip. I'm reminded of a varied mix of Ghouls And Ghosts, Risky Woods, Stormlord and maybe even a tickle of Shadow Of The Beast? It's hard to imagine a game more beautiful and then the audio matches this in equal measure. It's fabulous. No, I actually think it's far beyond fabulous and it's all thanks to Mad Max!

Ghost Battle could so easily have been a crackerjack platformer but it suffers by its own stupid design flaws with some of the most awkward mechanics. The potential is immense but you'll see very little unless you take (lots of) time to master its cruel learning curve. However, even if you do, there are still better platformers to chose from...